# Glossary

What every term, concept, and object in the platform means — the shared vocabulary that the modules, and the rest of this documentation, are built on.

Source: https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/start-here/glossary/
Updated: 2026-10-29

The same physical cutting tool appears in Tooling Metrics under different names depending on which stage of its life you are looking at. This glossary defines each term once; the documentation uses them consistently.

## The core chain: product → tool assembly → item → tool

These four terms are the ones most often confused. They describe the same hardware at different stages:

| Term | What it is | Lives in |
|---|---|---|
| **Product** | A catalog record of something you can buy — one manufacturer part number with its ISO 13399 parameters, 3D model, and drawing. | [Library](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/library/) |
| **Tool Assembly** | A digital model of a complete assembled tool — products combined into something a machine can use (holder + collet + end mill). Used in CAM and process planning. | [Library](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/library/) |
| **Item** | A stock record — a product synced into inventory so quantities, locations, and costs can be tracked. | [Inventory](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/) |
| **Tool** | A physical assembled tool on the shopfloor, built from items according to a tool assembly. It has a number, a location, a condition, and a history. | [Production](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/) |

Read left to right as "stages of the same hardware," not a strict pipeline: Tool Assembly and Item each derive independently from Product — a Tool Assembly doesn't produce an Item, and an Item isn't built from a Tool Assembly. They converge only at the end, when a Tool is assembled from (serialized) Items according to a Tool Assembly's design.

## A–Z

**Condition** — Never used bare; it means three different things depending on what it's describing:

  - *Tool condition* — a physical tool's wear state:

```mermaid
stateDiagram-v2
  direction LR
  state "Unknown" as unknown
  state "Uncut" as uncut
  state "Used" as used
  state "Pre-warning" as pre_warning
  state "Warning" as warning
  state "Expired" as expired
  state "Broken" as broken
  [*] --> unknown
  unknown --> uncut
  uncut --> used
  used --> pre_warning
  pre_warning --> warning
  warning --> expired
  used --> broken
  pre_warning --> broken
  warning --> broken
  broken --> uncut
  expired --> uncut
  broken --> [*]
```

  - *Serialized item condition* — one physical piece's ownership/service state:

```mermaid
stateDiagram-v2
  direction LR
  state "Brand new" as brand_new
  state "Used" as used
  state "Need service" as need_service
  state "Under service" as under_service
  state "Refurbished" as refurbished
  state "Scrapped" as scrapped
  [*] --> brand_new
  brand_new --> used
  used --> need_service
  need_service --> under_service
  under_service --> refurbished
  refurbished --> used
  used --> scrapped
  need_service --> scrapped
  under_service --> scrapped
  scrapped --> [*]
```

  - *Storage condition* — a Stock Rule's routing setting telling the system which storage location to put each condition of stock into. A non-serialized Item has no condition of its own to track, so this is a routing hint, not a per-piece state.

**Cutting Data** — Validated cutting parameters (speed, feed, depths) defined per tool assembly, operation, and workpiece material. The system derives spindle speed, feed rate, MRR, and torque from them. See [Library](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/library/).

**Dashboard** — An arrangement of several widgets built for one monitoring job. See [Analytics](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/analytics/).

**Digital Thread** — The connected flow of data from process design through purchasing, inventory, production, and analytics, without manual re-entry or disconnected records. See [The tool digital twin](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/start-here/digital-twin/).

**Digital Twin** — The principle that every physical tool has a system record mirroring its location, composition, condition, and cost in real time. See [The tool digital twin](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/start-here/digital-twin/).

**Group** — A set of users sharing the same permission level for each record type. See [Permissions Model](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/admin/overview/permissions-model/).

**GTC (Generic Tool Catalog)** — The industry data standard, built on ISO 13399, that vendors use to publish their product catalogs in a machine-readable format.

**GTC Package** — A file in the GTC standard, exchanging tool data between systems. Importing a vendor's package populates the Library with full technical data; one or more Tool Assemblies can also be exported to a GTC Package. See [Import GTC package](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/library/tutorials/import-gtc-package/).

**Interface** — A connection code describing how one component attaches to another. The same concept applies on both sides of a connection: a Product carries the interfaces it can connect through, and a Machine Component or Machine Tool Location carries the interfaces available on the machine — matching the two is what lets the system validate compatibility automatically.

**Internal Category** — A hierarchical grouping of items that carries default usage cost settings, inherited by all items in it. See [Internal categories](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/reference/internal-categories/).

**Inventory Adjustment** — A document correcting system quantities to match a physical count. See [Adjustments](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/reference/adjustments/).

**ISO 13399** — The international standard for describing cutting tool geometry as structured parameters. Products carry ISO 13399 data so dimensions are machine-readable.

**Job** — One machine setup: a sequence of operations performed in one clamping on one machine. Usually grouped into a Project, though a standalone Job with no Project is valid too. See [Jobs](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/reference/jobs/).

**Machine** — A CNC machine record, with its magazine slots (tool crib), mounted tools, and usage cost history. See [Machines](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/reference/machines/).

**Machine Component** — A head, turret, or gang on a Machine — the physical unit that holds a set of tool slots. See [Set Up a Machine](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/tutorials/set-up-machine/).

**Machine Tool Location** — One numbered slot on a Machine Component — a spindle, turret station, or gang slot — where a Tool is mounted. See [Manage a tool crib](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/guides/manage-tool-crib/).

**Material** — A workpiece material classified by ISO 513 group (P/M/K/N/S/H) and VDI 3323 subgroup. Cutting data is defined against materials. See [Materials](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/library/reference/materials/).

**Move Line** — The atomic record of one quantity moving from one location to another. Every pick, transfer, return, and receipt is made of move lines. See [Inventory Model](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/overview/inventory-model/).

**NC Program** — The CNC program reference attached to a job, with its tool number assignments. See [NC programs](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/reference/nc-programs/).

**Operation** — One machining step within a job (e.g., face, rough pocket, drill pattern), with its assigned tool assembly and cutting data. See [Operations](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/reference/operations/).

**Part** — The workpiece being manufactured — the thing an engineering project produces. See [Parts](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/reference/parts/).

**Pick List** — A document directing an operator to collect specific items from storage locations. See [Pick lists](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/reference/pick-lists/).

**Project (Engineering Project)** — The complete production plan for a part: an ordered set of jobs, each with its own operations and tool assemblies, reusable across production runs. Generates a Setup Sheet once released. See [Projects](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/reference/projects/).

**Purchase Order / Receipt / Restock** — The procurement chain: the order to a vendor, the check of what arrived, and the put-away into storage locations. See [Purchasing](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/).

**Return List** — A document recording used tools coming back from a machine, including their condition. See [Return lists](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/reference/return-lists/).

**Scrap List** — A document writing off items at end of life and removing them from inventory. See [Scrap lists](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/reference/scrap-lists/).

**Sequence** — The numbering pattern for document IDs (PO-2026-0001). See [Sequences](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/admin/reference/sequences/).

**Serialized Item** — An individual unit of an item tracked by its own serial number, with its own condition, value, service thresholds, and history. See [Serialized vs Non-Serialized](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/overview/serialized-vs-non-serialized/).

**Service Order** — A purchase document sending items to a vendor for refurbishment and tracking their return. See [Service orders](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/reference/service-orders/).

**Setup Assistant** — The wizard that reads a job's tool list and creates the required tools and pick lists in one step. See [Use the Setup Assistant](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/guides/use-setup-assistant/).

**Setup Sheet** — The printed or digital document giving the operator everything needed to set up a job: tools, slots, offsets, parameters. See [Setup sheets](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/engineering/reference/setup-sheets/).

**Stock Rule** — A rule defining where items of a given condition are stored and what quantities trigger replenishment. See [Stock rules](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/reference/stock-rules/).

**Storage Device / Module / Location** — The physical storage hierarchy inside a WAP: a cabinet, a drawer or shelf within it, and an exact position within that. See [Warehouse Hierarchy](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/overview/warehouse-hierarchy/).

**Tool Crib** — A machine's tool magazine — the numbered slots holding tools, mirrored in the machine record. See [Manage a tool crib](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/guides/manage-tool-crib/).

**Tool Life** — One usage cycle of a tool: the runtime accumulated until its cutting capability ends. Compared against the tool's life limit to drive condition warnings. See [Record Runtime](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/production/guides/record-runtime/).

**Tool Transfer** — A document moving tools between locations — typically from an assembly station to a machine. Validating it posts usage cost.

**Usage Cost** — The cost posted automatically when items are picked or transferred to machines (per pick), while they stay there (per hour), or written off at scrap (their full remaining value, in one shot). See [Cost Allocation](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/overview/cost-allocation/).

**Warehouse Access Point (WAP)** — The counter where inventory physically enters or leaves a warehouse area, with its own storage devices, administrators, and interface. See [Warehouse Hierarchy](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/inventory/overview/warehouse-hierarchy/).

**Widget** — One configured data view on a Dashboard, rendered as a Metric, Chart, or Table. See [Analytics](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/analytics/).